The Noise : A Novel (2021) by Patterson James

Author:Patterson, James [Patterson, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

Tennant

IT STARTED ABOUT TEN minutes ago, the murmuring. Sophie was still unconscious, but her body had begun to twitch and shudder on the gurney. Her fingers jumped up and extended as if a jolt of electricity found her. Then they slowly settled back down. Her tiny toes curled tight, then relaxed again a moment or two later.

The straitjacket was on the floor in a heap, as were the leather straps. Sophie’s favorite flowered dress, the one with purple lilacs on it, was soaked in sweat, torn in some spots, and shredded in others. Tennant slipped it off and dropped it on the floor with the rest. From the sink in the room, she wet several paper towels and went to work gently wiping away the horrors of the past days. Her poor little sister’s skin was scratched in so many places, it was a wonder none of the wounds had grown infected. Most likely, their medicines had something to do with that, but those were gone now. Dr. Fitch had someone clear them away moments after he left. If Momma were here, she’d use garlic, honey, ginger, echinacea, goldenseal, clove, or maybe oregano to help with infection, but Tennant had none of those now. She had water and the box of crackers one of the soldiers had given her, nothing else.

In one of the cabinets under the sink, she found T-shirts and sweatpants, all new, still wrapped in plastic packaging. Tennant had never owned new clothes; neither had Sophie. Everything they wore came from others in the village. The community clothing yurt had been a round tent on the far end of their settlement. Tennant and Sophie had loved picking together through the boxes and crates of outgrown or discarded clothing. They’d never do that again. The yurt was gone now, along with everything else.

The sweatpants were far too large for Sophie, meant for an adult. The T-shirt would reach her knees, nearly as long as her dress, and it would have to do on its own. She redressed Sophie, then looked at the items on the floor. She couldn’t bring herself to put the straitjacket back on but she replaced the leather straps, although a little looser than they had been. She didn’t want to, but she had no idea what her sister would be like when she woke, and she couldn’t risk her hurting her or herself again.

Aside from the clothing, the cabinets around the sink were bare.

There was a small air-conditioning vent near the ceiling, not large enough for either of them to fit. The door was made of steel. Four cameras looked down at them, one in each corner. Each camera had a harsh red eye that blinked every other second. She tried not to look up at those.

Sophie’s skin felt warm but not hot like earlier, and Tennant told herself that was good. She was still sweating, though. Not as bad, but still … hopefully that was her body forcing out the poison, fighting this nasty, evil thing growing within her.

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